London Food And Drink News: 27 March 2014

Welcome to our weekly round-up of all that’s happening in London’s food and drink scene.

Inside this week: big new openings, bar food and butchers

Skye Gyngell to open at Somerset House

After she left her role of head chef at Michelin-starred Petersham Nurseries near Richmond in early 2012, rumour has been rife of where Australian chef Skye Gyngell will be opening next. Today it was announced that she we will launch a restaurant called Spring this Autumn (confusing, eh?) in Somerset House. It will focus on seasonal, simply-cooked ingredients and feature an ‘indoor garden’ as a focal point.

Claridge’s goes wild

There’s been much anticipation of the arrival of chef Simon Rogan’s new restaurant in Claridge’s. The chef is famed for his two-Michelin-starred Lake District restaurant L’Enclume and ran two-year pop-up Roganic in Marylebone a couple of years ago. He’s revealed today that this first permanent London opening will be called Fera (Latin for wild) and will open on May 6.

Ramsay returns to his roots

Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant group have bought the site in Chelsea which was previously Aubergine, the restaurant credited with launching the famous chef’s career and the place where he gained his first Michelin star in 1995. We will have to wait to see what nostalgic plans the sweary chef has for the site at 11 Park Walk just off Fulham Road.

Colebrooke Row: on to solids

Tony Conigliaro’s 69 Colebrooke Row is acknowledged as one of the best and most forward-thinking cocktail bars in the world. But one thing the venue has never done is serve food. That will all change from the start of next month when a bar snack menu is launched, and it’s due to draw on many of the same creative influences behind the cocktails. A dish called Melon++ will consist of thinly sliced strips of melon which have been subtly infused with flavours of ham, ginger, mint, rocket and lime zest; tomato tartare, ceviche and raw rolled beef ‘sandwiches’ will also feature.

Foxlow branches out

After an instantly successful launch in Clerkenwell last year, the Hawksmoor team are in the process of securing a second site for its sibling restaurant in Soho. It comes not long after another Hawksmoor branch was revealed for Knightsbridge this summer. You can read our review of Foxlow here.

The East London Wine

After the launch of Sager & Wilde in Hackney last year helped make the idea of wine bars cool, the same borough is now to gain Verden, a wine, cheese and cold meat bar near Hackney Downs. Dalstonist has a little more info for now, but we’ll keep you posted as we get the details.

New openings

Monday saw the relaunch of Marcus Wareing’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant in The Berkeley hotel, rebranded as Marcus and offering a slightly more casual approach to service. Earlier this week, One Kensington launched on Kensington High Street, it’s a modern European restaurant from the team behind high-end Indian Tamarind. And today sees Hill & Szrok open its Broadway Market cookshop; this unique venture is one we’re keen to try out, it being a butcher’s shop by day and a restaurant by night.

Upcoming new launches announced this week include the arrival of casual eat-in or takeaway Persian place Dindin Kitchen on Gray’s Inn Road next Tuesday, the opening of the first London branch of Margate’s GB Pizza Co on Exmouth Market in a couple of weeks, Hoxton Square BBQ restaurant Red Dog Saloon’s southern spin-off Red Dog South to open near Clapham North on 7 April, and a new piri-piri joint Fire & Feathers to open on Fulham Road in May. In drinks news, a new Mayfair joint is to become London’s first dedicated bellini bar when it launches next week, Cartizze will open in Lancashire Court just off Bond Street and serve creative takes on the classic fizz cocktail, priced at £12 a pop.

Talk To Us

We still want your help to keep these weekly food & drink news round-ups as relevant, up-to-date, and interesting as possible. Got any top tips, local gems or foodie news? Tried one of the new restaurants we mentioned? Leave a comment below or hit us up at hello@londonist.com. ‘Til next week…